Metal foil strain gage sensors, when applied to an object, can adequately measure straining forces on the object by determining how much the resistance of the resistors change within the metal foil strain gage sensor. A typical metal foil strain gage sensor includes four active resistors and thus four hard wire connections to the resistors. Because of the numerous wires extending from the metal foil strain gage sensor and its low signal to noise ratio, this type of sensor is susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI). Alternative strain gage technologies (thick film and semi-conductor) supply a higher signal to noise ratio, but have not traditionally been used due to their inability to measure axial and transverse strains with four active resistors.
Therefore, there exists a need for a strain gage sensor that is less susceptible to EMI/EMC while having an increased signal to noise ratio and an increased ability to measure multi-directional straining forces on an object.